Fully Naked With God

November 17, 2013

Imagine…

A bride… a groom…

The big day has finally arrived. The wedding. For months, years perhaps – love has been rising. For the girl, it started as a cautious curiosity – her heart being intrigued and wooed – her mind at first thinking too much, then not thinking, falling in line with the heart.

For the boy, it was mad love from the get go.

He pursued her furiously, without measure of consequence – with reckless abandon. His love for her was wild. It was free. Ultimately, it was intoxicating – overcoming any of her tentativeness.

A proposal was offered, and accepted. Rings were bought. Invitations mailed. And now guests and flowers and gifts had all converged to witness promises, vows and a rejoiceful recessional – followed by celebratory dancing, drinks and a feast. A glorious, magical wedding feast.

Finally, the newlyweds speed away in a fancy carriage of steel – and retreat to a room to be alone, truly alone, for the first time – a man, and his bride.

Days and weeks and months and years of budding love and closeness, are lit as a fuse – ready to explode. The intimacy of their courtship to be consummated in nakedness and glorious union. The husband, wild with anticipation, has come unclothed, laying himself bare…

…but the bride… presents herself still clothed, allowing her husband’s passionate advances – but never removing her garments.

Intimacy, is therefore not fully received. It was never given the chance.

While unlikely in our experiences and understanding of weddings and marriage unions – this is sadly how we, the Bride of Christ, have often presented ourselves to our Husband, Jesus.

He has pursued us furiously, with reckless abandon, and without measure of consequence – from before time. His love for us is wild. It is free. Ultimately, it is intoxicating – overcoming our initial cautious curiosities and tentativeness. We fall in love with Him. We accept His proposal. But sadly, somewhere after that we tend to lose the significance in the feast, the celebration – but more – we have not received His invitation to intimacy. He is pregnant with lustful anticipation of seeing His Love of us returned to Him – and has laid Himself bare before us.

And we have received Him with most of our clothes still on. It’s time to get fully naked with God.

God’s Eternal Purpose includes a romantic intimacy with His creation, you and I. While you might be tempted to hear and understand this intimacy from a sexual point of view – His idea of intimacy goes far beyond that. It’s not sexual at all – it is Divine. It is a Fellowship that is more than companionship – it is Oneness. The consummation of His intimacy is super-abundantly more than the beautiful picture of it He has given us in marriage union – it is a Bride for the Son. Yes, it is more than the metaphor I have painted above for you. But like that story, we can never receive the fullness of His Intention for us with our clothes still on (and yes, I am speaking metaphorically there).

God in His Triune Fullness, walked in this intimacy with Adam and Eve in the Garden. For 2 Chapters in the Bible (Genesis 1-2), we see a romantic glimpse into His plan. The “cool of the day” that God strolled in through the Garden with His creation spoke of more than a walk – more even than a romantic hand-holding stroll.

It was a One-ness.

Of course, this was disrupted at the Fall. With a bite of the forbidden fruit, man became aware – and this knowledge of good and evil brought with it recognition of a broken Fellowship – and of nakedness.

So Adam and Eve clothed themselves. They were shamed, fearful, full of guilt, and hiding from God. And despite the blessed Truth that God reversed the effect of the Fall in Jesus – thus also reversing the broken Fellowship – many of His Children have yet to receive the depths of that reality – and take their clothes off.

We are wearing shame. We are wearing fear. We are wearing guilt. We are putting on religious duty and obligation. We are still hiding. Our nakedness isn’t covered by fig leaves anymore – but make no mistake, in many ways, the Body is fully clothed – in layers even.

In Christ, we are the Bride. Beloved. Flawless. Gorgeous. Perfect. Ravishing. Our Husband is raving-mad passionate for us. His deepest desire is to express His Love through intimacy with us. He is naked before us – and though He knows our body full-well – He waits for us to know Him full-well, to receive His advances, His unending Love – and return it to Him… naked.

He is waiting for us to take off everything we continue to wear in hiding from Him, to believe that He sees no flaw in us – and to be finally and fully united in the Oneness of His Divine intimacy.

From before time, God has purposed to restore the Garden intimacy – the cool of the day Fellowship He briefly shared with Adam and Eve. In Christ, it is ours to receive.

The Groom has shut the door behind Him. His Bride stands before Him in radiant splendor. His Love and desire for Her is beyond words – it is Eternal. He is naked, He always has been. Consummation of Intimacy beckons. He is willing…